Sunday, September 27, 2015

Boats, Fish, and Some Orthodox Evangelism

I got word of the invitation to preach at the downtown cathedral church when I got home last evening at dusk. I read through the gospel passage for today's liturgy before going for a clear-my-mind run, and what came through was Jesus' unmistakeable call to follow him. Moreover, even more dramatically was the response of Peter, his brother Andrew, and his business partners James and John - they left all and followed him. Since I try to preach expository sermons, and since an expository sermon allows the text to determine the message, I decided to allow the text to do the preaching. This can be challenging in a congregation as diverse as ours, and which likely has not heard an overtly evangelistic message in, say, well let's just say a long time.

Because of the liturgical and sacramental nature of Orthodoxy as it is practiced across the globe, the assumption is easily made that everyone who is there is somewhere on the way of salvation. However, we forget that everybody had to start at some point Even Peter, Andrew, James and John. So this sermon is about Jesus calling them, calling us to take that first step with him, if we haven't. In my past as an uber serious Calvinist, I always focused on Peter's response, 'Depart from me, Master, for I'm a sinful man', as being what happens when Jesus comes into our picture - he highlights our need for a savior. But I now think that's reading a bit much reformation theology into the story. In fact, the moment related, with this boat loaded three feet deep in flopping fish, and Jesus sitting there in the front watching it all happen as the four men are frantically scooping up even more (they just can't stop! It must be a fisherman thing), is pretty funny.

Anyway, here's my attempt at following the text where it goes, which is to say, my attempt at some Orthodox evangelism from the pulpit of Sts. Cosmas and Damien Orthodox Cathedral in Nairobi. I would love to be acquainted with other efforts at evangelism in Orthodox contexts. I'm sure it's done - I just haven't come across any yet.

1Once while Jesus was
standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to
hear the word of God, 2He saw two boats there at the shore of the
lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats, the
one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the
shore. Then he sat down and taught the
crowds from the boat. 4When
he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and
let down your nets for a catch.’ 5Simon
answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the
nets.’ 6When they had done
this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7So they signaled their partners
in the other boat to come and help them.
And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8But when Simon Peter saw it, he
fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful
man!’ 9For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of
fish that they had taken; 10and so also were James and John, sons of
Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.
Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be
catching people.’ 11When they
had brought back their boats to shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Let’s talk about boats. How many of you have ever been in a
boat? How many have ever gone fishing in
a boat? Boats are a big deal in the New
Testament. Boats are mentioned in the
gospels more than 50 times. Jesus
traveled by boat across the lake of Gennesaret a number of times. At least four of his disciples had boats and
were fishermen.

Dug up from the mud in 1986: first century fishing boat

Did you know that the
remains of a fishing boat were discovered along the shores of the Lake of Gennesaret
in 1986 during a time of drought when the water was low? They were able to extract it from the mud and
preserve it. It turns out this boat
dates from the first half of the first century AD. You can see it in a special museum they built
for it. It was likely being used when
Peter and Andrew and James and John were making a living in their boats as
fishermen. It could have been one of the
boats on the lake when Jesus was there.
Anyway, it’s about 27 feet long and 7.5 feet wide and about 4.5 feet
deep, with a flat bottom so they could fish close to shore. But it also has a place for a mast, so the
owners could sail across the lake if they wanted to.

Replica of first century boat found in the mud.

Now that you have an idea
of the kind of space that we’re dealing with, I want you to think about
fish. Lots of fish. Jesus just asked Simon to go out a bit into
the deep water and let down his nets for a catch. And Simon very politely (because he is a
fisherman and knows what he is doing) explained that there aren’t any fish here
right now because they just spent the whole night doing just that. But he humors Jesus and puts his net down
anyway. And all hell breaks loose.

'Peter's Catch of Fish' by Eric de Saussure, 1968

The net is full. Fish are spilling into the boat. More and more fish flopping out of the net,
filling the floor with fish. Simon yells
to James and John and they row their boat out to help. And now fish are flopping out of nets filling
both boats. More and more fish. Simon and Andrew are up to their knees in
fish and the boat is riding low with fish and about to take on water.

So there is Jesus, sitting
in the front of the boat, surrounded by fish.
And Simon looks at Jesus and it suddenly connects what’s going on. He realizes that there is way more to Jesus than
he can comprehend. ‘Depart from me,
Lord, for I am a sinful man.’

You see, this isn’t the
first time they encountered Jesus. Jesus
moved to Capernaum from Nazareth not so long ago, and he has been teaching and
preaching in all the local synagogues.
He’s been doing miraculous healings and casting out demons. Simon, Andrew, James and John have all likely
heard Jesus; they have likely witnessed healings and exorcisms. And now they are in their boats with Jesus
and with more fish than they have ever brought to shore. And Jesus says to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid;
from now on you will be catching people.’
In Mark’s gospel, Jesus is more explicit: ‘Come follow me, and I will make you catch
people instead.’ (Mark 1:17)

And Luke says, ‘When they
brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed Him.’ (Luke
5:11)

So I’ve said something
about boats. And I’ve said something
about fish. I want to end by saying
something about following Jesus, about discipleship. First I want to say what discipleship is
not. Discipleship is not about being a
church member. Discipleship is not about
growing up in a Christian family.
Discipleship is not about belonging to a particular ethnic group. Discipleship isn’t about attending services,
or even being a choir member or a chanter or serving at the altar. Discipleship isn’t knowing a lot about
Christianity, or Orthodoxy, or Jesus.
Now understand, I’m not saying that these things are not important. I am saying that none of these things is what
being a follower of Jesus is about.

We understand what being a
disciple is all about by observing the first disciples. Jesus called them. They responded. They left their fishing business, their
boats, their homes, their extended families.
And they followed Jesus as he went from there through Galilee and
Samaria and Judea and eventually to Jerusalem.
There they saw their Lord crucified and buried. There they met Him risen from the dead. There they saw him ascended to heaven. There they were filled with the Spirit and
began proclaiming the good news of the risen Lord. And now that good news has come to us, right
here, this morning.

Church of the Incarnation

Jesus’ presence changes
everything. And Jesus’ call to you will
mean your life will never be the same.
And we can either pay no attention and continue to live our lives the
way we have always lived them as if nothing has happened, as if nothing is
different, as if nothing has changed, as if Jesus is not who He says He is.

Or we can hear His call,
and respond, and leave our old life behind, and choose instead to follow
him. Something astonishing has to happen
in a person’s heart to be willing to do this.
We have to become like Simon Peter up to our knees in fish – we have to
see Jesus for who He is. And once we see
Jesus for who He is, we understand, and we too are willing to leave everything
to follow Him.

Jesus calls us to a
relationship with Him. But he also calls
us to surrender our lives and our agenda and everything we have and are over to
him. We now understand that who we are,
what we do, what we have and what time is ours now belongs to Jesus for Him to use as He desires. As the Apostle Paul says, ‘He died for all, so that those who live
might live no longer for themselves but for Him who died and was raised for
them.’ (2 Corinthians 5:15)

So who are you this
morning? Are you someone with the name
of Christian only, or have you responded to Jesus’ call to you that you come
and follow him, that you become his disciple?
Are you a Christian because your family is a Christian, or do you know
the Lord Jesus as your Savior and your Lord? Are you growing in your
relationship with Him? If you have never
responded to Jesus’ call, you can do so right here and right now. I don’t know what the equivalent of a
boat-full of fish is for you. But Jesus’
hand is extended to you. ‘Come follow
me,’ he says. ‘All the things you have
built your life on are based on empty promises that will never satisfy and will
take you further and further away from the only one who can satisfy and save
and change and transform you heart and your life.‘ We don’t to altar calls
here, at least like they do next door.
But that shouldn’t stop me or any one of us from saying, ‘Yes, Jesus, I want to know you. I want to follow you. Please forgive me for my selfish life. Please make me your disciple. Please change my heart. Make me like you.’ The Christian life is a relationship, a
journey, and a process. But just like
with Simon and Andrew, just like with James and John, it has to start
someplace. When they got to shore, they
took the first step. Do you remember
when you took your first step? And if
you haven’t yet, what is keeping you from doing so now?

In the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.e
saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen